Adeniyi Tours Zone B, Charge Officers To Re-commit To Anti-smuggling Efforts

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

In continuation of his tour of customs formations in the country, the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR who was in Zone ‘B’ last Thursday charged officers and men of  the zone to redouble their efforts in bringing smuggling to the barest minimum, noting that his administration will not rest on its oars until the menace of smuggling is significantly suppressed in Nigeria.

According to SC Abdullahi Maiwada, the Customs National Public Relations Officer, the CGC while addressing officers of the Zonal Headquarters and Federal Operations Unit Zone B, Adeniyi said, “I urge you to double your efforts in frustrating the businesses of unpatriotic citizens who venture into smuggling activities within the edges of Federal Operations Unit Zone”; while assuring that the service will continue to identify with sterling qualities and demonstrable hard work.

“The Service will not turn blind eyes on any officer who exhibits courage in the cause of his work. While I commend the officers who engineer good seizures in this Zone, I also wish to charge you all to be more steadfast in discharging your duties with the provisions of the law to suppress the smuggling of unlawful substances.”

In the same vein, while briefing the CGC on the unit’s scorecard, the Controller, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘B’, Comptroller Musa Ibrahim Jalo, said he has raised the bar of customs community relations noting it has helped in significant measure in raising the unit’s overall performance.

According to him, the Customs Community relationship in the Unit is already paying good results, as they have recently recovered  N2,500,636,150 in revenue, which he said was achieved due to the commitment of the officers at the Unit.

“That has led us to seize foreign rice, petroleum products, marijuana amongst other items – through intelligence gathering.”

At the Kaduna Area Command where he addressed a cross-section of officers and men, the CGC also tasked the officers to pay attention to serving Nigeria as excellent Customs Officers and also to be determined to pass their promotion examinations, as it will be based on performance and not on favouritism.

He said that the Service has renewed its strategy for assessing officers who performed excellently in service, emphasizing that “the era of making contact with officers who are ahead of you by rank to assist you pass your examinations has passed.”